The streptavidin-biotin affinity was utilised to demonstrate the potential of the birefringence assay platform, using free biotin as the model analyte, biotinylated lipase and streptavidin-coated magnetic beads in the competitive format. A semi-quantitative assay with a detection limit of 5 μg mL-1 to free biotin as the model analyte was achieved in the visual birefringence mode. This study demonstrated a proof-of-concept lyotropic assay platform with birefringence as the visual signal output that could be deployed as an electronics- and colour-free diagnostic device for a wide range of applications, for example to indicate the presence of toxins in water.The development of new multi-functional dressing materials that effectively combine excellent antibacterial and wound healing promotion properties are highly desirable in modern biomedical research and clinical practice. In this study, a new near-infrared photo-responsive dressing material (HG1-CW) was fabricated based on a dodecyl-modified and Schiff base-linked chitosan hydrogel, a photothermal agent (WS2 nanosheets), and an antimicrobial drug (ciprofloxacin). This nanocomposite dressing possesses the advantages of being injectable, self-adapting, rapidly molding, and has good tissue adherence and excellent biocompatibility. The positive charge, macropore, and alkyl chain of the hydrogel helped to capture and restrict the bacteria. Under the irradiation of near-infrared light, the WS2 nanosheets produced a large amount of heat and simultaneously, the antibiotic was triggered to release in an on-demand fashion at the wound site, leading to the bacterial death. This synergistic therapy combining the photothermal effect and the spatially and temporally controlled drug release effectively avoided the shortcomings of each of the two individual treatment modes, and the outstanding sterilizing effect was verified by both the in vitro antibacterial tests and an S. aureus-infected mouse wound model. Furthermore, the dressing nanocomposite showed a good anti-oxidation activity, which could effectively eliminate the inflammatory responses triggered by the dead bacteria left in the infected area, avoid secondary damage to the wound tissue, and promote wound healing. This multifunctional dressing demonstrates good potential in clinical applications.The development of reversible networks in elastomers provided unique inspiration for the design of advanced polymers with excellent properties. In this paper, we adopted an anionic melting method to introduce carboxylate groups into 1,2-polybutadiene (1,2-PB), using maleic anhydride as a modifier, and sodium hydride (NaH), calcium hydride (CaH2), and lithium aluminum hydride (LiAlH4) as metallization reagents. Na-Based, Ca-based, and Li/Al-based ionic bond networks were constructed in the covalently crosslinked 1,2-PB. The effects of the electronegativity and valence of the metal ions on the strength and reversible temperature of the ionic network were studied. Payne effect was shown by rheological tests, demonstrating the interactions between the ionic networks and rubber chains. The reforming temperature for these ionic networks was studied by stress-relaxation analysis, and shape memory experiments were performed based on these temperatures. This concept provides novel inspiration for the design of high-performance and temperature-adaptive elastomers.Zwitterionic materials are an important class of antifouling biomaterials for various applications. Despite such desirable antifouling properties, molecular-level understanding of the structure-property relationship associated with surface chemistry/topology/hydration and antifouling performance still remains to be elucidated. In this work, we computationally studied the packing structure, surface hydration, and antifouling property of three zwitterionic polymer brushes of poly(carboxybetaine methacrylate) (pCBMA), poly(sulfobetaine methacrylate) (pSBMA), and poly((2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl)phosporylcoline) (pMPC) brushes and a hydrophilic PEG brush using a combination of molecular mechanics (MM), Monte Carlo (MC), molecular dynamics (MD), and steered MD (SMD) simulations. We for the first time determined the optimal packing structures of all polymer brushes from a wide variety of unit cells and chain orientations in a complex energy landscape. Under the optimal packing structures, MD simulations were further conducted to study the structure, dynamics, and orientation of water molecules and protein adsorption on the four polymer brushes, while SMD simulations to study the surface resistance of the polymer brushes to a protein. The collective results consistently revealed that the three zwitterionic brushes exhibited stronger interactions with water molecules and higher surface resistance to a protein than the PEG brush. It was concluded that both the carbon space length between zwitterionic groups and the nature of the anionic groups have a distinct effect on the antifouling performance, leading to the following antifouling ranking of pCBMA &gt; pMPC &gt; pSBMA. https://www.selleckchem.com/products/cpi-1205.html This work hopefully provides some structural insights into the design of new antifouling materials beyond traditional PEG-based antifouling materials.A variety of materials-based approaches to accelerate the regeneration of damaged bone have been developed to meet the important clinical need for improved bone fillers. This comprehensive review covers the materials and technologies used in modular microcarrier-based methods for delivery of progenitor cells in orthopaedic repair applications. It provides an overview of the field and the rationale for using microcarriers combined with osteoprogenitor cells for bone regeneration in particular. The general concepts and methods used in microcarrier-based cell culture and delivery are described, and methods for fabricating and characterizing microcarriers designed for specific indications are presented. A comprehensive review of the current literature on the use of microcarriers in bone regeneration is provided, with emphasis on key developments in the field and their impact. The studies reviewed are organized according to the broad classes of materials that are used for fabricating microcarriers, including polysaccharides, proteins and peptides, ceramics, and synthetic polymers.